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Oregon statewide

Dead Bird Removal in Oregon

Call for Dead Animal Removal πŸ“ž (503) 213-6864 Tap to callPrice and availability settled on the call

Private-property removal Β· Phone quote before any visit Β· Independent operators where one covers your address.

Dead bird removal in Oregon. Multnomah County Animal Services does not pick up wild birds, and ODFW advises taking feeders down while birds are dying at them. A bird out of reach in a chimney or vent is an operator's job where one covers the address.

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Quick answer

Who handles dead bird removal in Oregon?

Where the animal is lying answers this until the pavement ends. On an Interstate, US route or Oregon state highway it is ODOT's Carcass Collection Program, reached through Ask ODOT on 1-888-275-6368; an animal that cannot be moved off the road safely is a 911 call. On a county-maintained road, the county, and Jackson County names skunks, raccoons and birds among the wildlife it handles case by case. A city street belongs to the city, on whatever it publishes. Private ground belongs to the owner, and Multnomah County states plainly that it "is unable to pick up small wildlife". Past that property line no Oregon agency we found has a role, so Oregon Dead Animal Removal routes the call by ZIP to an independent operator where one covers the address, and whether this situation can be taken on, and the price, are settled on the call. Call (503) 213-6864.

What the job involves

What dead bird removal covers, and what it does not

A bird

A dead bird is worth a call when nobody wants to handle it or nobody can get at it, wedged above a fireplace damper, behind a vent hood, inside a soffit or out on a roof. For one lying in the yard, ODFW's instruction is gloves, two bags and the rubbish. Several dead birds in one place are a reporting matter for ODFW before they are anybody's removal job.

The field work belongs to independent operators. Each holds their own permits and insurance and answers for the disposal route. Oregon's regime for that work is ODFW's Wildlife Control Operator permit, which sits with the operator and never with this site. What any individual operator is willing to take on surfaces in the conversation, not on this page.

Whose job is a dead bird in Oregon?

Where it is lying decides it, and Jackson County Roads writes the boundary down in one sentence: the roads it manages "differ from city streets, state highways, and private roads or private property." The state system runs as a maintenance program rather than a statutory duty, and no Oregon statute we located pushes any of this onto a homeowner's yard.

  • Interstates, US routes and Oregon state highways: ODOT, through a Carcass Collection Program that picks up roadkill on major state roadways and records carcass data to find collision hot spots. The published way in is Ask ODOT on 1-888-275-6368; there is no carcass-specific hotline. Move the animal off the road only if it is safe, and call 911 if it cannot be moved safely.
  • County-maintained roads: the county road department. Jackson County handles "wildlife such as deer, elk, skunks, raccoons, and birds … on a case-by-case basis" on its own roads; Washington County routes deer, elk or livestock in a public road right-of-way to its Land Use & Transportation operations division.
  • City streets, the curb strip, parks and bike paths: the city, under whatever it publishes. Eugene defines its right-of-way for residents and collects there on 541-682-4800. Each city page quotes its own wording.
  • Your own ground, from the side lot to the crawl space: yours to arrange. Eugene states that "the property owner is responsible for disposal"; Multnomah County requires an animal in a private area to be "moved to the public right of way for pickup" and says it "is unable to pick up small wildlife" at all. ORS 601.140's 15-hour rule reaches a domestic animal a keeper owned or had in charge, not wildlife you found. That last case, the one with no agency behind it, is the reason this site exists.

The agency-by-agency breakdown, with the quotes, is in the guide to who removes dead animals in Oregon.

Step by step

A dead bird removal call, start to finish

  1. Say what the bird is, where it lies and how many there are; several dead together go to ODFW's Wildlife Health Lab on 866-968-2600 before anyone moves them.
  2. In Multnomah County from May 15 to September 30, and in Jackson County, a fresh crow, jay or raven may be wanted for West Nile testing, so ring vector control before moving it.
  3. One bird on the lawn or deck may go in your own trash, double-bagged with gloves on as ODFW allows, or, if you would rather not touch it, ask on the call whether an operator can take it.
  4. An operator comes in for a bird out of reach above the damper, behind a vent hood or on the roof, if the address can be taken.
  5. It comes out through the damper, the vent opening or down from the roof. No ceiling or finished wall is opened to find it.
Cost in Oregon

Who sets the price for a dead bird removal

The figure is assembled during the call by whoever would attend, once the animal, its position, the access and the disposal are all known. It is not an hourly rate. No figure appears on this page either. It belongs to the operator who takes the job, and a number typed in to fill the space would bind a person who never agreed to it.

The figure is agreed on the call. The invoice is raised by whoever carries out the work, and never by this site.

When to call

What waiting costs you

Sooner is cheaper. Whatever the animal is resting on takes up the fluids, and crawl space soil, insulation and framing all hold them, so each additional day generally means more material has to be bagged or treated alongside the carcass. One question comes ahead of this one: where somebody in the house or a pet has been in contact with a raccoon or a skunk, that belongs to a vet or a local health department first.

Questions

What callers ask about dead bird removal

Who do I call about a dead bird in Oregon?
Multnomah County Animal Services lists birds, crows, pigeons, ducks, geese, hawks, owls and backyard chickens among the small animals it does not collect. Several wild birds dead in one place go to ODFW's Wildlife Health Lab on 866-968-2600. Sick or dead domestic birds, a backyard flock included, go to the State Veterinarian at the Oregon Department of Agriculture, 503-986-4711. A single bird you cannot reach, or would rather not handle, is what this page covers.
Is avian flu a risk with a dead bird?
ODFW treats it as one. Its avian flu page says the current strain had reached nearly every Oregon county by January 2025, hitting geese, shorebirds, raptors and scavengers hardest. The instruction is not to handle or transport sick or dead birds, and to double-bag a yard bird with gloves on. An outdoor cat in Washington County tested positive in January 2025 after exposure to wild waterfowl, and ODFW asks owners to keep cats indoors.
Will anyone test a dead crow?
In two places we have checked, yes. Multnomah County Vector Control collects dead crows, jays and ravens for West Nile testing from May 15 to September 30 on weekdays, provided the bird has been dead under 48 hours and the body is intact; the number is 503-988-3464. Jackson County Vector Control District accepts American crows, common ravens and western scrub-jays that look fresh, on (541) 826-2199. Ring them before arranging anything private.
Several small birds are dead under my feeder. What happened?
ODFW says most of the songbird deaths it sees in Oregon over winter come from diseases passed at feeders, and that dirty feeders spread salmonella, E. coli, viruses and parasites. It advises cleaning feeders and taking them down while birds are dying at the feeder or nearby. Several dead in one spot is what ODFW's Wildlife Health Lab asks to hear about on 866-968-2600, so ring before bagging any of them, and leave any waterfowl or raptors among them where they lie.
Can I keep the feathers from an owl or hawk I found?
No. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits possessing feathers or other parts of native North American birds without a permit, however they were obtained, with no exemption for moulted feathers or a bird killed on a road or at a window. A single dead owl or hawk is bagged whole with gloves on, feathers included, and several together are reported to ODFW's Wildlife Health Lab.
What if it turns out to be a bat?
Then it is a rabies question first. Birds are not a rabies vector species, but the Oregon Health Authority says some bats are infected with rabies. It advises avoiding contact with a dead bat, covering it with a pail or coffee can weighed down with a brick, and calling the local health authority. The state public health laboratory tests a bat only where a person has been exposed, so say straight away if anyone, or a pet, touched it.
A bird is stuck in my chimney or vent and has gone quiet.
A bird above a fireplace damper can generally be lifted out from below or through the chimney top, and one behind a bath-fan or dryer vent hood from outside with the hood off. A bird dead deep in a duct inside a finished ceiling is harder, and nothing is cut open to find it. Whether anyone can attend is settled on the call, because calls route by ZIP where an operator covers the address.

Statewide questions on law, safety and process are on the Oregon FAQ.

Dead Bird Removal in Oregon: the rest happens on the phone

One description is enough. Availability for the address and the figure are both settled while you are on the line.

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